The multi-modal Sabarmati hub will provide commuters the option of conveniently interchanging between different modes of transport – high-speed rail, BRT, metro and the Indian Railways network. Financial Express Online learns that the tender for developing this Sabarmati hub as part of the bullet train project has already been floated and the bid will open on October 5, 2018.

“Within a month of opening the bids the contract will be awarded. According to the conditions of the contract the Sabarmati hub has to be developed and handed over to NHSRCL in 30 months time so we are hoping that it will be ready by March-April 2021,” Dhananjay Kumar, spokesperson NHSRCL told FE Online. NHSRCL or National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited is the executing agency of India’s first bullet train project. While the exact cost of developing the major hub is not known yet, it is expected to cost anywhere between Rs 300-400 crore.

The Sabarmati station on the bullet train network will have the theme of Dandi march (salt movement led by Mahatma Gandhi at the time of the Independence struggle). Interestingly, an aerial view of the Sabarmati hub will give the impression of seeing a charkha. Sabarmati hub will have 5 buildings, two of which will be developed extensively as multi-storey complexes. While one building will have 9 floors above the ground level, the other will have 7 floors above the ground. The 9 storey building will house offices as well as a hotel. The terminal building will have a concourse area on the third floor for facilitating passenger movement. This concourse will have waiting areas, retail and shopping hubs and restaurants and food courts.

India’s first bullet train will traverse the 508-km long distance between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in 2 hours and 57 minutes covering 12 stations including the originating and final station. However, stopping at just two stations, the bullet train will take 1 hour and 58 minutes. The 10 coach bullet train will be able to seat 750 passengers in one go and to begin with the frequency of train service at peak hours will be 20 minutes. While the bullet train will begin full operations in 2023, PM Narendra Modi has set an ambitious deadline of August 15, 2022 for flagging off the first bullet train.